Julia’s House Game Changers sign up for gaming marathon

SUPER keen Julia’s House gamers couldn’t wait to sign up for the charity’s first ever Gameathon this Bank Holiday weekend (23-24 May).

Deniz Kiddle (age 13), Connor Read (age 17), William Meyer (age 16) and George Witt (age 15) jumped at the chance to put their gaming skills into action in support of Julia’s House, whose nurses and carers are continuing to look after the most vulnerable children in the local community and ensure their families feel less isolated during the coronavirus pandemic. While lockdown is lifting for many people, it is continuing for many of the families Julia’s House supports who have children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. The Julia’s House Game Changers will be joining gamers from Dorset, Wiltshire and across the UK over the long weekend to help fundraise and ensure this vital care continues – there will be a prize for the gamer who raises the most money for the event. *

Sense of freedom

“Gaming gives me a feeling of freedom,” said Deniz Kiddle, whose favourite games are Fortnite and Minecraft. “I like being a different character and getting into a game world and forgetting all the bad things in the world. I think the Gameathon is a great way to have fun and meet old and new friends.”

Ashley Dickinson, Julia’s House senior carer, adds: “Gaming has a positive role to play in the lives of the children we care for and support, particularly right now when opportunities for wider stimulation for these children are really limited – their worlds have shrunk hugely. Gaming really helps with socialisation and their emotional development. It helps keep them connected.”

Sign up now

If you want to join Game Changers Deniz, George, Connor and William – simply set the duration of your gaming marathon (anything from 1-24 hours), create a JustGiving fundraising page, share details of your challenge with friends and family, and play your favourite games while you fundraise! Live stream as you play so people can donate in real-time, wear a crazy costume, get friends to suggest additional challenges to help you reach your fundraising milestones – the choice is yours! You can play solo, in a squad or tag-team, using a console of your choice.

Julia’s House is adapting its care on a day-to-day basis so that it can continue to support the most vulnerable children and families during the coronavirus crisis. The charity’s nurses and carers are still visiting family homes wearing PPE to provide care, reassurance and advice to anxious parents. Crucially, their support is easing the burden on an overstretched NHS by enabling these children to stay at home. While Government support is hugely welcome, not knowing how long this support will continue or how long the country will be in some form of lockdown, means the charity’s situation is challenging.

For more information and downloadable Gameathon resources to help with your challenge visit juliashouse.org/JHGameathon

About Julia’s House

Julia’s House is a local charity dedicated to supporting the families of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in Dorset and Wiltshire. Many of these children require round the clock care, which has a huge impact on family life.

Julia’s House provides bespoke care for every family it supports. Parents can choose when, where and how they receive their care – at home, in the community or at one of the charity’s two hospices in Corfe Mullen and Devizes – making it a truly flexible service. Julia’s House is there for the whole family, not just the sick child, providing emotional support and social opportunities for parents, grandparents and siblings to help break the cycle of anxiety and isolation that can impact family life.

This regular respite and support, plus emergency and end-of-life care, is provided completely free to families thanks to the generosity of the local community. Julia’s House relies on public donations, fundraising and legacies for 95 per cent of the money needed to run its vital service. Prior to COVID-19, the charity anticipated supporting between 160-200 families across Dorset and Wiltshire during 2020, with medical and scientific advances meaning more children are being born and living longer with life-limiting conditions.

The service that Julia’s House provides has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission and the charity is a Sunday Times Top 100 Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For.

For more information visit juliashouse.org

*To qualify for the prize draw you must sign up for the Gameathon at juliashouse.org/JHGameathon and raise money through a JustGiving fundraising page. The prize draw will close at 10am on Tuesday 26th May 2020 and the winner will be announced by 5pm on Tuesday 26th May 2020.